Data Privacy is on hype from a couple of years. With active cyber criminals and their catalytic hacking techniques, it has been really hard to keep up with the technology and protect data.
We have certainly seen hackers and cybercriminals use highly advanced techniques to get unlawful access to sensitive data. Each year cybersecurity companies try to tighten the security, but these mischievous hackers find a loophole or two to put us in a difficult situation.
Dealing with information of clients and customer is vital to run any business. However, keeping this information secure is a tough task to handle, especially for small businesses. Most of the small businesses are not ready with counterattacks for hacker’s moves of extracting data from Information Systems.
It is not that they are not aware of hackers’ presence, they don’t think that hackers could target their firm as it is small scale. Besides, spending IT budget on cybersecurity doesn’t seem to be a wise thing for them.
On the contrary, small businesses are alluring as well as an easy target for hackers as they don’t bother to invest in cybersecurity. Some of the small-scale businesses could be third-party providers for larger firms and could become an entry gate for hackers to destroy both altogether.
That’s why small or large, no matter what’s the size of business, it is vital to invest in cybersecurity and educate their employees the risks and precautions that should be taken while handling data.
Bindu Sundaresan, a senior security professional for AT&T said,
“ I find that most small businesses don’t understand the impact of a cybersecurity breach outside of their business. They’re basically a pawn in a larger game. Think about the importance of this data and what could happen if the hacker got his or her hands on it and how is that going to affect your overall business model.”
Bottom line, data security is important and small businesses could go for basic cybersecurity.
Today on Data Privacy Day, “valuing privacy and, securing data” should become a mantra for all whether small or large businesses. Data Protection Day is held every year with the motto to spread awareness about the significance of privacy and shielding information.
Therefore, we have listed some of the important tips to protect your system and secure client and customer information.
Tip 1: If you accumulate data, then protect it. It is recommended to follow security measures to make sure employees’ and customers’ information stays protected from unauthorized access.
Tip 2: You must have knowledge of what you are safeguarding. You must know about all the personal information you have such as where it is stored, how you are using it, who all has access to the information. Check all the assets you have and why they could interest hackers.
Tip 3: A Strong Privacy Policy. Customers should be able to trust you with their information. You need to ensure that your privacy policy explains how you are securing their data. Be transparent with customers when it comes to consumer data you accumulate and what is the purpose of the same. If you are honest, then it is easy for customers to trust you that you will keep the data safe.
Tip 4: Never collect unnecessary data. You can be a bigger target if you have more confidential data. Never use social security numbers or other sensitive information to identify the customer, ask for login credentials instead. Don’t keep personal information with you.
Tip 5: Never disparage threat. Most of the small businesses believe that only larger companies are targeted by hackers. However, there are many cases wherein small businesses have been duped of thousands of dollars by hackers.
Tip 6: Use various layers of security. The more layers you have, the more difficult it would be for hackers to affect you. Use Spam filters to avert malware and phishing scams. Keeping your email secure as it is the easiest way to victimize. Use a firewall to protect your sensitive data.
Tip 7: Safeguard against mobile device risks. No matter how technology (laptops, smartphones) has increased productivity and flexibility, it can be easily used to steal confidential information. Educate employees and partners about the significance of keeping them secure.
Tip 8: Make a habit of scanning all new devices. Never use any external devices without scanning for any malware or viruses.
Tip 9: Keep your machine clean. Your machine should always have the latest security software, the latest version of the operating system and the latest version of web browser installed. This way you could protect your system from malware, viruses, and other malicious threats. Also, turn on automatic updates if available, so that you are never vulnerable to the threats.
Tip 10: Educate your employees. The handlers of customer’s data are employees. Therefore, it is necessary to make sure they are always updated with security tactics such as fraud schemes. Also, they should always make sure that the data is never mishandled.
So, these are some of the things that you need to keep in mind to make sure you don’t fall in hackers’ traps.
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